Martsolf explained that amount would only be owed if and when grant funds are received, and the $59,000 could possibly be offset with grants from other sources.

“Sounds like a bargain to me,” Supervisor Robert Smith said.

The same was true for another DCNR grant application, which supervisors agreed to submit.

The board voted to seek $320,000 to cover the cost of land acquired for both trail development and a larger conservation project.

That application included a 1-to-1 commitment by supervisors of another $320,000, Martsolf said.

In all, about 100 acres of land was secured for the trail project with several hundred more acres purchased for conservation purposes, he said.

On Thursday, supervisors came out of a closed-door executive session to announce they had taken over an alleyway in Bellwood Borough, which is along the trail route.

The acquisition means the township now owns all of the right-of-way for phase one of the project, Martsolf said.

“The most difficult thing about these types of projects is securing the right-of-way,” he said, explaining ownership makes a stark difference in securing funding.

If grants are awarded, township officials can move forward with engineering, bidding and permitting the project, Martsolf said, predicting construction could begin as early as spring of 2020.

And township leaders are already planning to expand the trail beyond its initial footprint. Phase two would take the trail from Becker Road to Lower Riggles Gap Road.

“It is truly going to be a greenway corridor that is going to continue to develop for decades,” Martsolf said, also mentioning potential stormwater and streambank projects. “All we really have to do now is wait on state money.”